Discovering What's Most Important
by prplerayne
Summary: After Marty Pino's tragic actions, Danny realizes what's really most important. D/L Oneshot Spoilers for 5x18 s


Discovering What's Most Important

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI: NY or any of its central characters or plots.

A/N: I just randomly came up with this. It's got spoilers from Point of No Return and Green Piece. You all have probably seen, or at least heard, about the latter by now, but just in case.

Tiredly, Danny trudged through the front door of his apartment. Today had been a taxing day, at best, and he didn't just mean in the physical sense. His mind always being on Lindsay, and the resulting lack of sleep, had caused him to forget his bullet proof vest when he went with Mac and Flack to question a suspect. Still, that hadn't prevented him from getting in a shootout with Little Stevie that had ultimately resulted in the perp's death; but not before the dirt bag confessed to killing Annabel Pino. That was the worst thing about the day. Annabel had been murdered and it was her husband, Marty Pino, former M.E. and friend of Danny's, whose shit actions had caused the whole damn thing!

'_Son of a bitch', _Danny thought as headed to the kitchen to retrieve a bottle of scotch and glass. It seemed like it'd been forever since he last had a drink, but after a day like today he felt that it was absolutely called for. After Lindsay announced her pregnancy, Danny had joked that since he couldn't have the baby for her, the least he could do is abstain from all the things she couldn't have during this time.

"_You'd have one contraction and kill yourself,"_ her playful words from that conversation ran through his head, making him smile. Danny was no sissy when it came to pain, but the idea of an entire human being coming out of his body seemed to be a bit more than he could tolerate.

Gosh he missed her. Danny just had the hardest case he'd been through since Ruben, and he desperately wished his new wife was there for him to talk to and snuggle with until it was time for his next shift. Ruben. If one good thing had come from the child's death, it was that Danny had learned the absolute importance of not isolating himself and pushing the people who cared about him the most (and that _he_ cared about the most) away. He couldn't deny that his and Lindsay's relationship had gotten much better since they'd reconnected and made a conscious effort to work on their communication skills. Look at them now. Now, they were husband and wife; Danny and Lindsay Messer. She hadn't even hesitated about changing her last name, though she would remain Monroe at work to avoid confusing people.

He looked down at his ring, the tangible symbol of their union, and noticed that there were still a few spots of blood on it. When he got back to the lab, all he could think about was removing the blood that didn't belong there, off the ring. He'd junked his shirt, writing it off as a loss, and started to rub with vigor once he got to the sink. Lindsay's phone call had been a welcome distraction. He didn't want to tell her about something as big as the shootout…or Marty, when he knew he probably wouldn't have the time to sit down and properly discuss this with her, answering all her questions and putting her mind at ease; so he vowed to call her when he got off shift. He knew this wasn't a phone call any woman wanted to get, and he didn't relish having this discussion with his eight-and-a-half month pregnant wife over the phone, but he wanted to do it now rather than risk someone else mentioning it to her, thinking he'd already told her. No, that wouldn't be good at all. With only five-and-a-half weeks until the baby was due to be born and her on the other side of the country, he didn't want to put too much stress on her and risk her going into labor when he wasn't there with her. He knew that the chances of this triggering labor were unbelievably small, but any chance of that was too big of a chance for Danny. Knowing that a doctor probably wouldn't attempt to stop her labor now that she was at thirty-four-and-a-half weeks along, and certainly wouldn't let her fly back if they did, made the option of omission even more unappealing to him.

Heading into their bedroom, Danny quickly found a container of Lindsay's jewelry cleaner and dropped his ring in for a few minutes. As he waited for the solution to remove the foreign substance from such a precious object, he pulled out his phone and dialed his wife.

"Well good evening, Detective Hot Stuff," Lindsay chirped into the phone as she hurried out of the living room, leaving her Dad scowling and her Mom chuckling, so she could talk to her husband in private.

"Hey babe! So you think I'm hot," Danny teased as he settled back on the bed, her pillow in his lap.

"You're okay, I guess."

"Just okay? I think you mean drop dead gorgeous."

"Yeah, yeah, don't let it go to your head. That apartment is crowded enough with you, me and soon the baby living there. I think we'd need an extra bedroom for your ego," she laughed. She knew that, had they been having this conversation face to face, it would have inevitably ended in a tickle fight. "I miss you," she blurted out suddenly as she settled into the recliner her Dad had moved into her bedroom, stating that he remembered when Lindsay's mother was pregnant with her that she was incredibly uncomfortable in the last month of her pregnancy and often slept in a recliner. Lindsay could relate to this. The closer she got to her due date, the more uncomfortable it was to lie down generally just get comfortable.

"I miss you too," Danny detected a hint of longing in her voice which only made him miss her more, "but you'll be home in four days, and I'm never letting you out of my sight again."

"Is that so, Mr. Messer," she questioned as she elevated her swollen feet.

"It is Mrs. Messer," he loved calling her that. Mrs. Daniel Messer. Lindsay Messer. The Messer family, "from now on its nothing but family vacations for us. I absolutely hate being this far apart from the two of you and I'd just as soon never be apart from you again. We're a family now, all three of us, and I miss my family terribly."

"We miss you too," she told him as she placed her left hand on her stomach as their child started one of its daily soccer games, using her internal organs as the soccer ball, in the increasingly small confines of her womb.

"So, how you feeling? How's the baby doing?"

"Jim Bob is just fine. He's pummeling my kidneys right now," she paused for a minute, "I'm tired but I can't sleep and I feel like I'm about to explode," she told him as a yawn took over.

Danny chuckled quietly. A sleepy Lindsay had always been an adorable Lindsay, at least in his book. "Jim Bob? Where in the hell did you come up with that horrible monstrosity of a name?"

"I think it's a very nice name. Jim Bob Messer. He won't have five other boys in his class with the same name," she said as seriously as possible. Lindsay routinely came up with the most bizarre or just plain terrible monikers that she could just to get a reaction out of Danny.

"There's a reason for that sweetheart. He'll be getting beat up on a daily basis with a name like that! I'll have Infant Messer going on his birth certificate before I agree to Jim Bob!"

"Okay, how about Linus or Floyd, then?"

"Absolutely not," Danny snorted in disgust causing Lindsay to giggle. "You are an evil, evil little pregnant woman Montana; threatening to name our child such horrible things."

"I know, I should be spanked with a wet noodle," she said cheekily.

"Don't tease me like that when you're almost two thousand miles away; it's not fair," he pouted playfully. He'd been dying to get his hands on her again since she stepped out of his arms at the airport once the final boarding call for her flight was announced. They had consummated their marriage that night, and Danny couldn't wait to consummate her homecoming provided she felt up to it. If Danny had wanted Lindsay before, and he had wanted her…_badly_, then the change in their marital status just made him want her all the more.

Laughing, she continued, "Okay, I have a serious name suggestion."

"And what might that be," Danny asked. They really needed to decide what to name their baby.

"Evan James."

"Hmm, that's a nice name. I think that one definitely makes our short list. We'll have to seriously discuss this when you get back. The baby will be here in no time and we hardly have anything ready."

"Our short list, that consist of how many names…one? If the baby's a girl we can't name her Evan, so we need a girl name too. We also need to put the crib together and install the car seat. There are also bottles that need to be sterilized and I haven't even packed my bag for the hospital yet," Lindsay automatically went into to do list mode as she methodically organized the importance of each item that needed to be done in her head.

"Bottles? I thought you were going to breastfeed?"

"I am, but when I go back to work the baby will need to eat somehow."

"Well, I guess it's a good thing we got a few at the baby shower then. We can see which one works best and then stock up for when you go back to work," he commented.

"Yeah, but they still need to be sterilized before they can be tested out and I'm not sure how much time or energy I'll have to do that once I come home and the baby gets here," she mused, the stress and exhaustion coming through in her voice.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that when you get back," Danny replied, instantly knowing how he could pass the time until her return and have a nice surprise for her.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah. What would you say if I told you that when you get back, you'll have sterilized baby bottles, an entire nursery furnished and ready for the baby, all the baby's belongings washed and put in their proper place, a car seat properly installed, and one or two baby names up for discussion in each gender, thus making our short list and actual list and allowing for the possibility of the baby being a girl?"

When Lindsay had told him about the pregnancy, they had initially decided to find out the sex of the baby at their five month sonogram. However, once the day finally arrived, they changed their minds. The two of them decided that there were too few pleasant surprises in life, and since neither had exactly been pleasantly surprised about the news of their impending parenthood, at first, they decided to save the surprise of the baby's gender for the delivery room. Lindsay had decided to try laboring without pain medication and she hoped that having that extra surprise at the end would help her to focus on managing her contractions instead of on how much they hurt. She'd read that labor and delivery was different for everyone and not everyone coped the same way, so she wanted to go into it with the general plan of having things be as natural as possible and amending that plan as necessary. Danny was completely supportive of what she wanted to do. At the end of the day all that either of them wanted was a healthy, happy Mom and baby. Danny was completely supportive of her birth plan, and if she felt that going natural was the best way for her to labor, then he was going to do whatever he could to help her do that.

"That would be a wonderful surprise! When are you going to have the time though?"

"I'll find the time. I just want you to enjoy seeing your parents and not worry about all the things that are still undone here. How are your parents," he knew his last question was changing the subject, but he had a feeling he also knew what she was thinking right now.

"Dan, you're not going to pull a stunt like being awake for the next four day straight are you? Do you remember what happened the last time you did that," she questioned, trying to keep the scolding tone out of her voice.

"I sure do. I started hallucinating that there was this beautiful woman in the lab and she smiled at me as she walked down the hall. After Mac let me set his arm on fire and sent me home for the day; I got this great, albeit sleep deprived, idea to take a red eye to go see her," Danny related the story of his last major sleep deprivation to her.

"What happened when you got there," Lindsay asked this being the first time they'd really talked about the trial.

"Well, she was at the courthouse, testifying, so I went straight there from the airport. I knew the circumstances and the case were particularly personal and difficult for her, so I wasn't sure if she wanted me there or how she would react to my presence, but had to see for myself that she was okay. Even if I couldn't make things better for her, even if all I could do was hold her hand and hug her while she cried, I just had to be there for her."

Lindsay felt herself tearing up at his heartfelt explanation, "she did want you there though and she was so happy to see you."

"Yeah, I figured that she was fine with my presence when she took me out back of the courthouse after the verdict, to get away from those pesky reporters, and laid one on me."

"She kissed you? Right then and there," Lindsay replied in mock surprise as she swiped a tear from the corner of her eye. Danny could be the sweetest man alive sometimes.

"It was perfect. The sun was setting and you could see the mountains in the distance. When she kissed me, my heart stopped beating, I swear. She's been just as perfect and made me just as happy every day since," he finished his recollection feeling the onset of what Hawkes had brazenly named Acute Lindsay Deprivation Syndrome.

"I love you," she whispered really missing him right now.

"I love you too."

"Mom and Dad are fine by the way," she answered his question.

"How did they take the news," suddenly Danny was a bit nervous. He couldn't shake the idea of James Monroe, a gigantic moose of a man, breaking every bone in his body as payback for getting his only daughter pregnant then marrying her without his permission or his presence.

"They took it. Mom took it better than Dad, but I think he just wants to make sure I'm happy and well taken care of."

"That's understandable. You're his only daughter. I'm gonna take care of you and make sure you're happy for the rest of your life."

"I know you will Danny. Daddy will see that as he gets to know you better. He's only met you once in the two years we've been together."

Danny chuckled, "imagine that, one time I'm just the guy his daughter brought home from the courthouse and the next I'm his son-in-law."

Lindsay laughed along at how that must be rolling over in her dad's head before she shifted the direction of the conversation, "how was your day?"

"Well, that's actually the secondary reason for my call. It was a pretty tough day."

"The secondary reason? What was the primary reason?"

"The primary reason was just to hear your voice," he flirted gently.

"That's sweet. So, what made today so rough? This morning, well technically yesterday morning," she commented noticing that it was past midnight where he was at, "you said it was just the same old stuff."

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about this before anyone else did. I know I said nothing was out of the ordinary, I just didn't want to tell you what was going on and then have to leave you hanging for who knows how long if something came up."

"Danny, what happened," she was genuinely concerned now.

"We got called out to a crime scene at a hotel, the housekeeper had gone missing and a dead woman was found in one of the rooms. A kilo of heroine was also missing."

"I take it the dead woman wasn't the house keeper then," she deduced correctly.

"No. It was…it was…ah…she was identified as Annabel Pino."

"Marty Pino's wife?"

"Yeah."

"Oh my god! What happened? How did Marty take it?"

"He seemed pretty torn up when Flack brought him in for questioning and when he identified her body in the morgue. This is according to Flack and Sid. I didn't see him until later, when we figured out what happened to her."

"What happened to her," Lindsay didn't like where this was going.

"She was shot in the chest by some ex-con named Little Stevie. Apparently, Marty owed him a good bit of money in gambling debt and when he didn't have the money, somehow Annabel ended up being the one trying to get him to take the drugs and sell them instead. He wanted nothing to do with that and shot her," Danny explained infuriated how Marty could put the woman he loved in such a position.

"Where the hell was Marty while this was going on," Lindsay couldn't believe how low their former friend had fallen in the past couple of years.

"He was hiding in the bathroom. He said he didn't think that Little Stevie would shoot her. After the shot went off, Marty came out of the bathroom and then barricaded himself back in so he could get out the window before Stevie got to him, the little fucking weasel."

"What about Little Stevie? Did you arrest him?"

"Ah, we tried to. I went with Mac and Flack to talk to him because we got a case to case hit on the bullet from Annabel's body with a murder rap he'd beaten a couple years early. Only thing is, I left my vest in my locker so, Mac made me wait outside."

Oh dear. Lindsay just knew she wasn't going to like the rest of this, and would probably want to yell at Danny later, but right now he just needed her to listen, so that's what she vowed to do. "What happened outside?"

Damn she was perceptive! Danny hoped that she wouldn't be too angry at him and would let him explain what happened as well as what he'd discovered before she started to rip him a new one. "Well, Stevie opened fire with a large caliber weapon inside the building, and escaped into some kind of storage shed, where I cornered him."

"I see."

"I didn't really see any other choice, so I went in after him. Gunfire was exchanged and I fatally shot him. He lived just long enough to implicate Marty and admit to killing Annabel before he died."

"I'm glad you weren't hurt," she said quietly, obviously trying to keep a hold on her emotions.

"When I got back to the lab, I went into the locker room to wash the blood off. I noticed it was on my ring and I just had to get it off. That's what I was doing when you called me. I'm glad you did too because that really made me realize something."

"What did you realize?"

"It's not just about me anymore. I have a wife and a child on the way. Everything I do now affects the two of you as well. I realized that I don't want you getting a phone call one day or having Flack show up at our door because something happened to me."

"I don't want that either Danny. The thought of something happening to you scares the hell out of me. I don't know how I would stand it."

"You would do the best you could because of the baby, but I don't ever want you to be in that situation. You are so precious to me, and it makes me sick to think that people put the ones they love in situations like Marty put Annabel. He cost her her life for fuck's sake! I could never do that to you, and today I realized that I can't recklessly put myself into situations like the shootout anymore. I'm a family man and being around for you and our child, hopefully one day children, is more important to me than putting myself into situations where I could easily be killed just for a collar. I'm going to be more careful from now on. I have to be; for you and baby Evan" he heard Lindsay let out a watery giggle when he used what had, without discussion, just become their boy name.

"We'll have to see about the children part, Messer. I haven't even had this one so I don't know what it will be like. I'm glad to hear you say this though. I've always been afraid that your leap then look attitude would get you taken away from me. I don't know how I'd manage if that ever happened," she said pulling a blanket onto her lap, deciding just to sleep in the chair again. Lindsay didn't like sleeping in the bed without Danny. "I'm sure Mac will be happy about your more cautious attitude too."

"I'm sure he will, but I want to make sure _you_ know that I'm never going to leave you and that I'm doing everything in my power to make sure that we're together for a long time. You are the most important person in my life and I don't want you to doubt that for a second…ever. Okay?"

"Okay."

"You sound like your getting sleepy, so I'm going to let you go and I'll talk to you tomorrow," he said noting how she seemed to be mumbling now when she answered him.

"Okay," she mumbled as she tried to keep her eyes open. "Dan?"

"Yeah? I'm still here," he responded quietly, instinctively helping her wind down for the night.

"Did you arrest Marty?"

"We did. He's done a lot of really heinous stuff, so he's going to be in prison for a very long time." Danny didn't see the need to tell her all that Marty had done, especially right now, unless she explicitly asked him.

"Good. It sounds like he doesn't need to be in society."

"No, he really doesn't. I think it's time for you to go off to bed and I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay. Don't stay up all night getting the baby's room together. Get some sleep and you can work on it tomorrow."

"I'll sleep if you do. Deal?"

"Yeah, you got a deal."

"Good. Goodnight Montana. I love you."

"I love you to cowboy. Do you want to say goodnight to the baby before I hang up? He or she is starting to settle down a bit."

"Yeah, I'd like that," Danny said and waited for her to put the phone to her belly. "Hey little baby. Evan or whatever your name is going to be if you're a girl. Mommy's tired, so behave tonight and let her get some sleep, okay? I love you and I'll see you soon."

"The baby could tell it was you talking. It was kicking the whole time," Lindsay chuckled as she tucked the blanket around her more.

"I told him to behave tonight so you could get some sleep."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now you hang up and get to bed. I love you and I'll be at the airport on Saturday."

"I love you too. Don't stay up too late. I'll see you Saturday."

"Bye, babe. I love you."

"Bye, Super Dad. I love you too. We both love you."

"Once the phone call had been disconnected, Danny pulled his ring out of the jar, dried it off and put it back on his finger, right where it belonged. The ring was just as much a part of him now as Lindsay and the baby were and he wouldn't have it any other way. As he made his way to the baby's room, he couldn't help but think of how lucky he was to have Lindsay and the baby in his life. He wasn't ever going to do anything to put them in harm's way, take them for granted or take himself away from them before it was his time. He loved his family and they were what were most important.


End file.
